Option 1 - Reducing the maximum level of support for working age applicants from 87% to 80%
Option 2 Removing the Family Premium for all new working age applicants
Option 3 Reducing backdating to one month
Option 4 using a set income for self-employed earners after one year’s self-employment
Option 6 Reduce the capital limit from the existing £16,000 to £6,000
Option 10 To remove Second Adult Reduction from the scheme
Option 11 To remove the Work Related Activity component in the calculation of Council Tax Reduction
Survey Demographics and Applied Weighting
Appendix A – Unweighted Results
Headline Results
|
% Agreeing with Option |
Rank of Preferable Option[1] |
Option 1 - Reducing the maximum level of support for working age applicants from 87% to 80% |
60.7% |
8.38 |
Option 2 - Removing the Family Premium for all new working age applicants |
50% |
6.55 |
Option 3 - Reducing backdating to one month |
75.0% |
8.77 |
Option 4 - Using a set income for self-employed earners after one year's self-employment |
51% |
6.08 |
Option 5 - Reducing the period for which a person can be absent from Great Britain and still receive Council Tax Reduction to four weeks |
83% |
9.25 |
Option 6 - Reducing the capital limit from the existing £16,000 to £6,000 |
60.6% |
7.34 |
Option 7 - Introducing a standard level of non-dependant deduction of £10 for all claimants who have non dependants resident with them |
71% |
6.86 |
Option 8 - Taking any Child Maintenance paid to a claimant or partner into account in full in the calculation of Council Tax Reduction |
54% |
6.56 |
Option 9 - Restricting the maximum level of Council Tax Reduction payable to the equivalent of a Band D charge |
57% |
6.50 |
Option 10 - Removing Second Adult Reduction from the scheme |
61.3% |
6.53 |
Option 11 - Removing the work related activity component in the calculation of Council Tax Reduction |
58% |
5.30 |
Option 12 - Limiting the number of dependent children within the calculation for Council Tax Reduction to a maximum of two |
73% |
7.58 |
Option 13 - Introducing a scheme, in addition to Council Tax Reduction, to help applicants suffering exceptional hardship |
74.8% |
7.71 |
Methodology
Maidstone Borough Council undertook a consultation on its proposed changes to council tax reduction between 1 July and 24 August 2016. A copy of the survey is available at Appendix B.
The survey was carried out online, with a direct email to approximately 9,000 Council Tax payees who had signed up for e-billing and was promoted on the Council’s website, social media and in the local newspaper. Paper copies were available in the Gateway and on request. An additional 150 paper surveys were sent via direct mail to residents aged 75 years and over (who are less likely to engage with us online), and a reminder email was sent to 230 payees aged 18 to 24 years to boost the responses from these groups.
The survey was open to all Maidstone borough residents aged 18 years and over (i.e. people who pay council tax or receive council tax reduction. Data has been weighted according to the known population profile to counteract non-response bias.
A total of 1471 people responded to the questionnaire. This report discusses the weighted results; however unweighted results are shown at appendix B for reference. Please note not every respondent answered every question therefore the total number of respondents refers to the number of respondents for the question being discussed not to the survey overall.
The survey had a low response from respondents aged 18 to 24 so this group was significantly under-represented and whilst the results have been weighted to take into account some of the variation in respondents compared to the borough population, these results should be treated with caution. Other areas that should be treated with caution due to low number of responses are people from BME backgrounds and Ethnicity: Other respondents, though these will only be weighted if age and sex details were provided and are not weighted as a separate variable. These results are shown in this report, however they are not referred to in the commentary due to the low level of statistical validity.
Option 1 - Reducing the maximum level of support for working age applicants from 87% to 80%
Option 2 Removing the Family Premium for all new working age applicants
Option 3 Reducing backdating to one month
Option 4 using a set income for self-employed earners after one year’s self-employment
Option 5 Reducing the period for which a person can be absent from Great Britain and still receive Council Tax Reduction to four weeks
Option 6 Reduce the capital limit from the existing £16,000 to £6,000
Option 7 To introduce a standard level of non-dependant deduction of £10 for all claimants who have non dependants resident with them
Option 8 To take any Child Maintenance paid to a claimant or partner into account in full in the calculation of Council Tax Reduction
Option 9 To restrict the maximum level of Council Tax Reduction payable to the equivalent of a Band D charge
Option 10 To remove Second Adult Reduction from the scheme
Option 11 To remove the Work Related Activity component in the calculation of Council Tax Reduction
Option 12 To limit the number of dependant children within the calculation for Council Tax Reduction to a maximum of two
Option 13 To introduce a scheme, in addition to Council Tax Reduction, to help applicants suffering exceptional hardship
Ranking the Options
In addition to asking respondents specifically about each option the questionnaire also asked respondents to rank the options in terms of preference where 1 was the most preferable option and 13 was the least preferred option. To assess which options were most preferable a weighted average calculation has been used.
The table shows the results of the ranking question compared against the levels of agreement with each option as shown in this report. Option 5 was the highest ranked in terms of preferred options, the table shows that this option also had the greatest proportion of respondent agreeing with this as a proposed change to the scheme.
Option 2 had the second greatest proportion of respondents agreeing and came out second most preferable option in the ranking question.
Option 13 had the third greatest proportion of respondents agreeing with this option. However when ranked for preference it dropped to fourth, while option 1 was sixth for levels of agreement but third preferred option.
Option 4 had low levels of agreement and was also came out as low preference, ranked 12th for both.
Average |
Average ranked |
% Agreeing |
% Agreeing ranked |
|
Option 5 - Reducing the period for which a person can be absent from Great Britain and still receive Council Tax Reduction to four weeks |
9.25 |
1 |
83% |
1 |
Option 3 - Reducing backdating to one month |
8.77 |
2 |
75.0% |
2 |
Option 1 - Reducing the maximum level of support for working age applicants from 87% to 80% |
8.38 |
3 |
60.7% |
6 |
Option 13 - Introducing a scheme, in addition to Council Tax Reduction, to help applicants suffering exceptional hardship |
7.71 |
4 |
74.8% |
3 |
Option 12 - Limiting the number of dependant children within the calculation for Council Tax Reduction to a maximum of two |
7.58 |
5 |
73% |
4 |
Option 6 - Reducing the capital limit from the existing £16,000 to £6,000 |
7.34 |
6 |
60.6% |
7 |
Option 7 - Introducing a standard level of non-dependant deduction of £10 for all claimants who have non dependants resident with them |
6.86 |
7 |
71% |
5 |
Option 8 - To take any Child Maintenance paid to a claimant or partner into account in full in the calculation of Council Tax Reduction |
6.56 |
8 |
54% |
11 |
Option 2 - Removing the Family Premium for all new working age applicants |
6.55 |
9 |
50% |
13 |
Option 10 - To remove Second Adult Reduction from the scheme |
6.53 |
10 |
61.3% |
8 |
Option 9 - To restrict the maximum level of Council Tax Reduction payable to the equivalent of a Band D charge |
6.50 |
11 |
57% |
10 |
Option 4 - Using a set income for self-employed earners after one year's self-employment |
6.08 |
12 |
51% |
12 |
Option 11 - To remove the work related activity component in the calculation of Council Tax Reduction |
5.30 |
13 |
58% |
9 |
Survey Demographics and Applied Weighting
Unweighted[2] |
Population |
|||
Count |
% |
Count |
% |
|
Gender (Over 18s 2011 Census) |
||||
Men |
450 |
48% |
59,049 |
49% |
Women |
496 |
52% |
62,410 |
51% |
Age (2011 Census) |
||||
18 to 24 years |
27 |
3% |
12,001 |
10% |
25 to 34 years |
164 |
17% |
19,223 |
16% |
35 to 44 years |
194 |
21% |
22,122 |
18% |
45 to 54 years |
208 |
22% |
22,152 |
18% |
55 to 64 years |
182 |
19% |
19,447 |
16% |
65 to 74 years |
114 |
12% |
14,269 |
12% |
75 years and over |
52 |
6% |
12,245 |
10% |
Ethnicity (2011 Census 16 years and over) |
||||
White groups |
870 |
95% |
145,996 |
94% |
BME |
50 |
5% |
9,147 |
6% |
Disability (2011 Census all people) |
||||
Disability |
138 |
15% |
24,505 |
16% |
No Disability |
791 |
85% |
130,638 |
84% |
Council Tax Benefit Recipient |
||||
Receives benefit |
371 |
38% |
|
|
No CT Benefit |
558 |
57% |
|
|
Not Sure & N/A |
43 |
4% |
|
|
Age |
Population |
Survey |
Weighting Applied |
||
Males |
% |
Males |
% |
||
18 to 24 years |
6,300 |
5% |
7 |
1% |
6.88 |
25 to 34 years |
9,319 |
8% |
62 |
7% |
1.15 |
35 to 44 years |
10,879 |
9% |
88 |
9% |
0.94 |
45 to 64 years |
11,163 |
9% |
94 |
10% |
0.91 |
55 to 64 years |
9,534 |
8% |
95 |
10% |
0.77 |
65 to 74 years |
6,955 |
6% |
79 |
9% |
0.67 |
75 years and over |
4,899 |
4% |
19 |
2% |
1.97 |
|
Females |
% |
Females |
% |
Weighting Applied |
18 to 24 years |
5,701 |
5% |
20 |
2% |
2.18 |
25 to 34 years |
9,904 |
8% |
100 |
11% |
0.76 |
35 to 44 years |
11,243 |
9% |
102 |
11% |
0.84 |
45 to 64 years |
10,989 |
9% |
112 |
12% |
0.75 |
55 to 64 years |
9,913 |
8% |
84 |
9% |
0.90 |
65 to 74 years |
7,314 |
6% |
34 |
4% |
1.64 |
75 years and over |
7,346 |
6% |
32 |
3% |
1.75 |
Appendix A – Unweighted Results
1. I have read the background information about the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (this question must be answered before continuing). |
2. Should the Council continue to fund and operate the Council Tax Reduction Scheme as we do now? |
||||||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
||
Yes |
98.5% |
1449 |
Yes |
51.8% |
663 |
||
No |
1.5% |
22 |
No |
33.8% |
433 |
||
answered question |
1471 |
Don't know |
14.4% |
185 |
|||
skipped question |
0 |
answered question |
1281 |
||||
skipped question |
190 |
||||||
Option 1 |
Option 2 |
|||||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
59.0% |
706 |
Yes |
50.8% |
586 |
|
No |
32.7% |
392 |
No |
35.2% |
406 |
|
Don't know |
8.3% |
99 |
Don't know |
14.0% |
161 |
|
answered question |
1197 |
answered question |
1153 |
|||
skipped question |
274 |
skipped question |
318 |
Option 3 |
Option 4 |
|||||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
76.2% |
863 |
Yes |
50.2% |
557 |
|
No |
16.4% |
186 |
No |
31.7% |
351 |
|
Don't know |
7.3% |
83 |
Don't know |
18.1% |
201 |
|
answered question |
1132 |
answered question |
1109 |
|||
skipped question |
339 |
skipped question |
362 |
Option 5 |
Option 6 |
|||||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
82.0% |
908 |
Yes |
58.8% |
644 |
|
No |
10.9% |
121 |
No |
33.5% |
367 |
|
Don't know |
7.0% |
78 |
Don't know |
7.8% |
85 |
|
answered question |
1107 |
answered question |
1096 |
|||
skipped question |
364 |
skipped question |
375 |
Option 7 |
Option 8 |
|||||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
70.6% |
766 |
Yes |
55.7% |
602 |
|
No |
16.9% |
183 |
No |
34.5% |
373 |
|
Don't know |
12.5% |
136 |
Don't know |
9.7% |
105 |
|
answered question |
1085 |
answered question |
1080 |
|||
skipped question |
386 |
skipped question |
391 |
Option 9 |
Option 10 |
|||||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
56.5% |
602 |
Yes |
60.2% |
641 |
|
No |
29.0% |
309 |
No |
28.1% |
299 |
|
Don't know |
14.5% |
154 |
Don't know |
11.7% |
124 |
|
answered question |
1065 |
answered question |
1064 |
|||
skipped question |
406 |
skipped question |
407 |
Option 11 |
Option 12 |
|||||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
55.9% |
591 |
Yes |
74.9% |
793 |
|
No |
16.1% |
170 |
No |
17.8% |
189 |
|
Don't know |
28.1% |
297 |
Don't know |
7.3% |
77 |
|
answered question |
1058 |
answered question |
1059 |
|||
skipped question |
413 |
skipped question |
412 |
Option 13 |
||
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
Yes |
73.7% |
775 |
No |
17.3% |
182 |
Don't know |
8.9% |
94 |
answered question |
1051 |
|
skipped question |
420 |
30. Thinking about impact on claimants and the impact from the reduction in funding for the Council, say what you think would be most preferable by writing a number from 1 – 13 in the boxes below, where 1 is the option that is most preferable and 13 is the least. |
|||||||||||||||
Answer Options |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
Rating Average |
Response Count |
Option 1 |
200 |
59 |
28 |
32 |
43 |
35 |
32 |
24 |
34 |
33 |
34 |
38 |
73 |
8.31 |
665 |
Option 2 |
16 |
44 |
50 |
45 |
57 |
42 |
59 |
54 |
55 |
71 |
47 |
68 |
36 |
6.51 |
644 |
Option 3 |
87 |
105 |
91 |
60 |
42 |
56 |
32 |
46 |
24 |
27 |
24 |
28 |
23 |
8.83 |
645 |
Option 4 |
17 |
34 |
27 |
62 |
51 |
48 |
58 |
50 |
62 |
57 |
66 |
42 |
67 |
6.21 |
641 |
Option 5 |
86 |
100 |
117 |
59 |
59 |
35 |
37 |
30 |
32 |
24 |
26 |
23 |
9 |
9.16 |
637 |
Option 6 |
50 |
69 |
61 |
55 |
53 |
62 |
37 |
35 |
31 |
45 |
47 |
53 |
61 |
7.26 |
659 |
Option 7 |
7 |
24 |
42 |
53 |
61 |
80 |
98 |
58 |
73 |
56 |
47 |
33 |
22 |
6.75 |
654 |
Option 8 |
26 |
40 |
62 |
53 |
63 |
43 |
54 |
81 |
34 |
43 |
38 |
57 |
75 |
6.65 |
669 |
Option 9 |
22 |
31 |
37 |
63 |
62 |
52 |
53 |
57 |
71 |
65 |
59 |
57 |
40 |
6.47 |
669 |
Option 10 |
18 |
32 |
43 |
53 |
68 |
49 |
57 |
72 |
69 |
74 |
57 |
42 |
43 |
6.49 |
677 |
Option 11 |
5 |
17 |
20 |
29 |
43 |
62 |
56 |
58 |
79 |
86 |
101 |
73 |
72 |
5.22 |
701 |
Option 12 |
93 |
65 |
79 |
58 |
45 |
63 |
46 |
37 |
33 |
32 |
40 |
48 |
65 |
7.76 |
704 |
Option 13 |
180 |
62 |
46 |
39 |
32 |
40 |
48 |
35 |
25 |
45 |
31 |
57 |
127 |
7.53 |
767 |
answered question |
857 |
||||||||||||||
skipped question |
614 |
31. Do you think we should choose any of the following options rather than the proposed changes to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme? Please select one answer for each source of funding. |
||||||
Answer Options |
Yes |
No |
Don't know |
Rating Average |
Response Count |
|
Increase the level of Council Tax |
163 |
736 |
66 |
1.90 |
965 |
|
Find savings from cutting other Council services |
378 |
474 |
106 |
1.72 |
958 |
|
Use Council's savings |
438 |
391 |
122 |
1.67 |
951 |
|
answered question |
985 |
|||||
skipped question |
486 |
|||||
32. If the Council were to choose these other options to make savings, what would be your order of preference? Please rank in order of preference by writing a number from 1 – 3 in the boxes below, where 1 is the option that you would most prefer and 3 is the least. |
||||||
Answer Options |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Rating Average |
Response Count |
|
Increase the level of Council Tax |
181 |
121 |
538 |
2.43 |
840 |
|
Reduce funding available for other Council services |
258 |
393 |
195 |
1.93 |
846 |
|
Use the Council's savings |
441 |
315 |
142 |
1.67 |
898 |
|
answered question |
921 |
|||||
skipped question |
550 |
|||||